VHP asks Muslims to give up 3 disputed sites

New Delhi

Hardline Hindu leader Ashok Singhal Saturday demanded Indian Muslims give up three disputed religious sites to Hindus for the sake of smooth relations between the two communities. Singhal, international vice president of the militant Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP, World Hindu Council), accused the Muslim community of adopting a "rigid attitude."

"Having adopted such a rigid attiude, Muslims cannot live in the society," he said, as quoted by the Press Trust of India news agency.

"They should not challenge the self-respect of Hindus. They have to reach an understanding with Hindus and give up their claim on the three temples," he said.

Singhal said the status of three places in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh was "non-negotiable": Ayodhya, Kashi and Mathura. The three Hindu pilgrimage towns all have shrine areas claimed by both Hindus and Muslims.

The most explosive dispute is over Ayodhya, where thousands of Hindu zealots in December 1992 razed a 16th-century mosque, believing it had been built over the ruins of a Hindu temple that marked the birthplace of warrior god Ram. In Kashi and Mathura, temples and mosques exist side by side. The demolition of the Babri mosque in Ayodhya set off nationwide riots between Hindus and Muslims that left at least 2,000 people dead and hundreds of thousands homeless.

Active OIC steps must to end woes of Muslims

PUTRAJAYA,

The Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) must take active steps towards resolving issues affecting the Islamic world by offering practical plans and strategies, a lecturer from Sudan said Saturday.

Prof Dr Abdul Rahim Ali Mohammad Ibrahim from Khartoum International Institute of Arabic Language said long- term strategies should be drawn in the field of education, economy and politics as well as the media. "Experts from all Muslim countries must be invited to pool their expertise and draft long-term, practical steps to realize the unity of the ummah," he said when presenting his working paper titled `OIC as a Medium of Unity of the Ummah: The Need for Effective Implementation of Strategic Planning'' at the World Conference of Islamic Scholars here.

He said the strengthening of cooperation in the economic and political fields as well as the expansion of social and cultural linkages were important for the realization of the common objectives of Islamic countries.

A seminar has been held by Muslims here on the theme “Islam in New Zealand: Civilization Dimension and Human Relations.” The seminar was held under the auspices of the Jeddah-based Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), and was organized by the Islamic Cultural Center of Australia and the Federation of the Islamic Organizations inNew Zealand. The seminar discussed a number of papers, and called for dialogue and cooperation between peoples of different religious denominations, and the shunning of oppression and aggression. The seminar called for the granting of the Muslim woman her rightful place, and for a refusal to continue to abide with archaic customs and traditions that obfuscate the woman and that deny her what Islam has rightfully accorded her.